Experienced Lady Vees gunning for nationals

BY SCOTT HADDOW

The Lady Vees soccer team's bread and butter is an unforgiving defence and they're sticking to it for 2007.

The Laurentian University women's team enters the campaign with a solid foundation made up of 16 returning veterans.

In 2006, the Lady Vees forged a record of 7-3-6 and finished fourth in the OUA East Division. They fell to Toronto in the playoffs.

There is excellent experience in all positions and thanks to a powerful and aggressive defensive scheme, the ladies will be tough to beat this year.

The OUA features some of the most prolific squads in the country, but these explosive offences will be subjected to a relentless pounding every second of every game this season.

The defence is anchored by the Big Four of Cara Smith, Erica Duczeminski, Sally Parent and Samantha Falcioni. All four hail from Greater Sudbury and take a lot of pride in winning. Smith is an OUA All-Star and a member of Canada's national university team. Duczeminski lead the team in 2006 with seven goals. Parent is an inspirational player who oozes character. Falcioni is one of the most forceful players in the league.

These four players make up a strong core and will push their teammates to the limits as they fight for OUA supremacy.

The squad also welcomes back starting goalies Meghan Hoffberg and Julia Boschetto.

The Lady Vees plan to make life a living hell for opposing foes looking to enter the offensive zone.

"What really defines this team as always is defence first," said head coach Rob Gallo. "We're solid and will give little room to our opponent's attacking players."

Gallo was blunt when it came to the recipe for success for his team this fall, which consisted of two ingredients.

"We have to keep the ball out of our own end and create more scoring opportunities," said the bench boss.

The Lady Vees will also be hoping for more offence this fall. At times last season, the team lacked the ability to finish off scoring chances. It finally did them in last year in the first round of the playoffs, when they lost 1-0 to Toronto.

It was a bitter loss and one that remained fresh in the minds of returning players. This year, the team is looking to mangle the competition with experience.

"We're a more seasoned team this year," said midfielder Caitlin Kelly. "It will make the difference because our veterans have great skill and some of them are all-stars...it should help us win more games."

The women have high expectations.

"This year, we are looking to better our standings not only in the OUA, but also leave a mark on the CIS," said Smith. "The CIS National Championships are not far out of reach, and if we accomplish our goal to be the best in the OUA, no doubt we will do well on the CIS stage.

A total team effort will be required by the women over the next two months if any kind of success will be realized."
"We have no main go-to girl," said Gallo. "They're a collection of individuals who will need every ounce of energy to battle some very talented teams."

The women open their season this weekend with two tough matches. On Saturday, they face the University of Ottawa - a powerhouse team in the OUA for the last several years who won bronze at the nationals in 2006. On Sunday, they face Carleton. Both games start at noon at Laurentian.